Fishing rod holder



Feb. 23, 1954 w. P. STAHLE FISHING ROD HOLDER Filed July 26, 1950 INVENTOR W/LL/AM R TA HL ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 23, 1954 I TED STATE S GFFICE;

FISHING ROD HOLDERI William 13;. Stable, Newport Newsgla. Application J'uly26, 1950., Serial No. 175,988

9- Claims; 1'

This invention relates to improvements in fishing rod holders and more particularly to such holders which are adapted to support a fishing rod from the body of a fisherman and which will permit all normal movements and operations of the rodand attached reel to be performed solely by" the use of one arm of the fisherman.

While variou fishing "rod holders have here'- tofore been devised for: supporting fishing rods in part from the'body' of a fisherman, so" far as applicant is aware, none of these has ever' af'- torded complete support for the rod in such a manner-as to completely eliminate the necessity for using the hands ofthe fisherman in supporting the rodafter the rod has been placed in the holder: Since at least one hand. had to be used in partially supporting the rodpin these prior art: devices said devices were incapable of permitti'ng a fisherman having" only one: arm from completely enjoying all the pleasures of: performingunassisted the normal operations incident to the act of fishi-ngysuch as'castingf, supporti-ngthe rod, operation of the reel whilesupporting" the rod, and removal of 'th'efish from the water:

It is therefore a primary object ofqthe invento provide means for detachably supporting a'fishing rod and reel from the body" of the fisherman in a manner to permit the fisherman to; perform all normal fishing operations by the use of only one arm I Another object of the invention is to provide a' fishing rod holderwhich, after the rod has been inserted in the holder; will permit the fisherman to completely support the rod and reel without theuse ofhis hands. A further object of the invention is to provide" a fishing rod supporting means which will permit total support of the rod. by the fishermans-body and while so supported will permit the fisherman to" use his hands for tasks other than supporting' the rod; such as operation of the reel, lifting fish out ofthewater; etc.

To the accomplishment of the above and relatedobjects; as will appearas the description proceeds, the invention may be embodied i-nthe forms illustratedin the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however,- that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construc= tinns-z illustrated and described; so long as the scope or the appended claims is not violated.

' In the accompanying drawings which form a part of application,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fishing rod hclderinuse-by a fisherman and showing aluminum,, magnesium andthe like.

2? the manner in which it is positionecl'and held during-"the act of fishing.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation 'of'the rod supporting member and socket the-Butt end of the fishing rod secured in said socketandwith the rod and harness broken away foreon venience.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of. the rod support ing member, socket an-d butt' end of the'fi'shing rod taken on the-line-33of'l igure2.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the: butt end of the fishing rod with the rod broken-away for convenience.

Lik characters of reference are used'througlrout the following specification and the 'aocom panying drawings todesignate: corresponding parts.

In carrying out the invention there; is provided a fishing rod. supporting member [0 preferably of substantially rectangularconfiguratiorr'andi in any event formed with substantiall-yopposed; flat surfaces H' and I2 for positioning. under" the arm of a fisherman and in the general" vicinity of the armpit, the same being'so, positioned and supported on the body of the fishennan; by a supporting shoulder harness or sling [3" which is attached to the supporting member bysuitable means such aseyeboltsfl and I! at eacfr'end thereof. The sling f3"when. placed over-the head is adjusted or formed' of such a length asto properly" support the rod supporting. member" llfl in the desired position beneath the armpihoi' the fisherman so thatgnember l0 maybe-'88 curely and physically clamped between the body of the fisherman and the upper portionofhis arm as will beread'il'y understood from reference to: Figs 1 of the accompanyingdrawingsu.

It should here be notedthat the rod supporting member Hlneed; not be of rectangular pom: figuration so. long, as it serves its. intended purpose and is capable of being easily and comfort ably held between the. armand body of the fisherman. The said member may be constructed of. any suitable lightweight material such as wood,

The emhodi'ment shown. in the drawings is formed;- of wood and is preferably made rectangular in .configuration for. convenience in manufacture; It

s has been found that a rod supporting member of a thickness of I", a; width 2.75 anda.

L 3 front of the fishermans body, and preferably on the fiat side ll of said member Hi. This socket member may be formed integral with the rod supporting member, if desired, but as shcwn in the Preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a metallic plate shaped to form a socket with the fiat side ll of member it, which plate is secured to the member In by suitable screws or the like (1. As best seen in Fig. 3, the plate is angularly bent or formed at 18 to provide a base supporting portion 19 for attachment to the member 10 and a socket seat portion 28 extending at right angles from the portion 49, which socket seat portion has additionally formed thereon and at right angles thereto upstanding ears 2| and 22. The socket for the butt end of the fishing rod is thus formed by surface I I of the member [3, the portion 29 of the plate l6 and the upstanding spaced ears 2i and 22. Ears 2| and 22 are each provided with slots 23-44 which extend forwardly from the rear edges of the ears and which are adapted to receive pin-like elements carried by the butt end of the fishing rod and prevent forward removal of the rod from the socket as will be explained l6 and to be easily insertable therein. since the socket shown in the drawings is of substantially square configuration, the portion 26 has been formed square in cross-section to cooperate therewith. It will be understood of course that any other cross-sectional configuration of socket and cooperating butt end portion 26 may used although it is preferable to have at least one fiat surface on each of the two members, which flat surfaces will cooperate in preventing rotation of the rod in the socket and with reference to the rod supporting member H).

The butt end portion 26 is provided with two headed pin-like elements 21-28 which may take the form of screws, rivets or the like. The pinlike elements 21-23 are positioned on the portion 26 so that when the butt end portion is placed in the socket and moved forward therein the pins will each enter the respective slots 23-24 in the ears 2 I22 and thus lock the portion 26 and rod in the socket against forward withdrawal of the same. By virtue of this construction a tug or pull on the fishing line will not dislodge the rod from the holder but will only tend to seat and lock the butt end of the rod mor firmly in the socket. To remove the butt end portion 26 and rod from the socket it is first necessary to movethe rod and the portion 23 carried thereby rearwardly far enough for the pin-like elements 2'i28 to clear the slots 2324 after which the rod may be lifted out of the socket, as will be readily understood.

While the butt-end portion 26 may be formed as an integral part of the rod in the manufacture thereof, the illustration given in the drawing shows the same as an attachment for a conventional rod. The attachment is provided with a suitable bore 29 for receiving the end of a conventional rod or rod section 30. The pin-like elements 21-28 may conveniently be in the form of'screws which not only perform their locking duties with respect to the slots 23-24, as heretofore recited, but also retain the attachment on the rod as will be clearly understood by referring to Fig.3 of the drawings.

meansare also provided for preventing the accidental dislodgement of the rod from the socket. This means preferably takes the form of a spring pressed ball detent 3i carried in the side surface I] of the supporting member midway between the ears 2! and 22, which ball detent will be urged into frictional contact with the adjacent side surface of the butt end portion 28 and is adapted to snap into a depression 32 therein when the portion 26 is in properly seated position in the socket. The ball detent and cooperating depression will retain the rod in the holder and keep it from being accidentally moved rearwardly under normal usage while at the same time permitting the parts to be so moved by hand when the butt end of the rod is being inserted into and removed from the socket.

Assuming that the fisherman desired to fish with his right arm and hand as illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings, he first places the sling or harness 13 over his head to the left side thereof and adjusts the sling and rod supporting member It so that the latter is comfortably placed in proper position beneath the right armpit with the socket means positioned in front or his body and to the outside thereof as shown in the drawings. The rod is grasped in the right hand and a cast is made after which the butt end portion 25 of the rod is placed into the socket 46 by the right hand with the pins 2'l-28 to the rear of the ears 2l--22. The fisherman then pulls the rod forward slightly until the pins enter their respective locking slots and the spring pressed ball detent 3| snaps into the depression 32. The rod is now locked securely in the socket l6 and the fisherman can comfortably support the entire rod and reel by physically clamping the rod supporting member 10 between the right side of his body and the inside of the upper portion of his right arm. By thus supporting the rod, the fisherman may have free use of the forearm and hand of the right arm while still maintaining adequate physical clamping pressure with the upper part of the same arm. The right hand may be easily used to efficiently operate the reel in conventional fashion to reel in the line and to let it play out as the case may require.

Whenever the fisherman desires to remove the rod from the holder he merely gives the rod a firm backward movement in the socket sufiicient to unseat the ball detent from the depression 32 and to permit the pins to clear the slots 23-24 after which he may easily lift the rod out of the socket all by the use of his right hand.

By virtue of the invention heretofore described, it will be seen that the fisherman can perform all normal fishing operations by the use of only one arm. Consequently such a construction will not only permit fishermen having only one arm to fish without assistance, but said construction will be found to be of decided advantage to fisher men having both arms, since it permits such fishermen to leave one arm andhand completely free to operate an outboard motor, steer a boat, or for performing any other incidental chore so desired while at the same time having complete support and control of the rod and line with the other arm and hand.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A fishing rod holder for supporting a fishing rod and reel from the body of a fisherman to permit normal manipulation of the rod and reel by the use of one arm only of the fisherman, comprising a rod. supporting member having oppojsitely disposed body engaging'suriaces, a ha.

ness for supporting the rod supporting member from the fishermans shoulder and for positioning said member beneath one of the fishermans armpits so that the said member may be securely and physically clamped between the body and the upper portion of the fishermans arm, by physical contact of the body and arm of the fisherman with said surfaces, socket means carried by the rod supporting member, means carried by the butt end of a fishing rod for insertion in said socket means and cooperating there with to securely and detachably engage and retain the butt end of the fishing rod to said rod supporting member, said socket means having a lateral entrance thereto for receiving by a sidewise insertion said means carried by the butt end of the fishing rod, and said socket means and said means carried by the butt end of the fishing rod including means for preventing withdrawal of the last mentioned means from the socket means in a forwardly direction but permitting withdrawal therefrom in a rearwardly direction, whereby the rod after casting may have the butt end thereof inserted in said socket means by the use of one hand only and after so inserted be totally supported by the rod supporting member without the use of the hands of the fisherman and thus permit free operation of the reel by the hand of the arm which is physically clamping the rod supporting member against the fishermans body.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein the means for preventing the forward withdrawal of the rod from the socket means comprises a cooperating pin and slot connection between the respective parts.

3. The subject matter of claim 2 and spring pressed means for frictionally engaging the butt end of the fishing rod and preventing accidental rearward removal of the rod from the socket means.

4. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said socket means and said means carried by the butt end of the fishing rod are each provided with cooperating surfaces preventing rotation of the rod with respect to said socket.

5. The subject matter of claim 4 wherein said cooperating surfaces comprise at least One fiat surface in the socket means and at least one cooperating flat surface on the means carried by the butt end of the fishing rod.

6. The subject matter of claim 4 wherein said socket means and said means carried by the butt end of the fishing rod include cooperating guide surfaces that facilitate the positioning of the comprising, a rod supporting member, a harness for supporting the rod supporting member from the fishermans shoulder and for positioning said member beneath one of the fishermans armpits so that the said member may be securely and physically clamped between the body and the upper portion of the fishermans arm, socket means carried by the rod supporting member, means carried by the butt end of a fishing rod for insertion in said socket means and cooperating therewith to securely and detachably engag and retain the butt end of the fishing rod to said rod supporting member, said cooperating socket means and means carried by the butt end of the rod each including cooperating surfaces for preventing rotation of the rod with respect to said socket means, a pin carried by one of said cooperating surfaces and a slot formed in the other of said cooperating surfaces, which pin on entering said slot on the insertion of the butt end of the rod in the socket means will lock the rod against forward withdrawal from the socket but permit the parts to be separated by rearward movement of the rod with respect to the socket means.

, 9. The subject matter of claim 8 and spring pressed means carried by the socket means for frictionally engaging the butt end of the fishing rod and preventing accidental rearward removal of the rod from the socket means.

- WILLIAM P. STAHLE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 175,903 Batley -Apr. 11, 1876 278,124 Gause May 22, 1883 371,777 McCabe Oct. 18, 1887 435,446 Pattee Sept. 2, 1890 517,555 Reed Apr. 3, 1894 1,282,039 Bullock et a1. Oct. 22, 1918 1,761,497 Smith June 3, 1930 1,985,985 Gerline Jan. 1, 1935 2,085,984 Kruithof July 6, 1937 2,292,142 Matson Aug. 4, 1942 2,298,694 Haislip Oct. 13, 1942 2,537,456 Goss Jan. 9, 1951 

